Shenandoah National Park

Our next stop was Shenandoah National Park. We love visiting the park, it is a special place to Nathan and I. We also love that the boys know we were married here and enjoyed spending time together there over the years.

And this was Eliza's first trip to SNP :) Both boys visited for the first time when they were less than a month old, but she's excused since we live far away now!

Our wedding site 💜

We took some pictures waiting for the cabin to be ready.

After the room was ready, we hiked the Stony Man trail, which is the hike we did together the day before our wedding :).

Intersecting with the Appalachian Trail.

We got to the summit and the grey clouds were closing in fast.

Towards the end of the hike, it started raining pretty hard, and by the time we got to the car it was pouring! We waited in the car for the rain to let up before brining in the luggage. And the boys went right back outside, they love playing in the rain.

It cleared up for a little bit, but then it poured all night and the wind blew loudly.

And we woke up to a beautiful sunny morning! This was our cabin.

After breakfast, we played around for a little bit, then it was time to hit the road again.

Love, love, love these 3 :).

We drove south on Skyline Drive and left the park at the middle entrance.

We love every opportunity to visit SNP and had a great quick trip! Next stop....the Mountain Pond House!

Washington D.C.

Our next stop was Washington D.C. for a couple of nights, and we stayed downtown just north of the White House. It was a great location to walk everywhere, and that is what we did on the first day. The boys enjoyed seeing the White House in person, and then the Secret Service cleared the area shortly after because VP Pence apparently wanted to come out the front door...

The next stop was to the National History Museum. We saw dinosaurs and lots of neat exhibits, to include the Hope Diamond.

Afterwards, we walked to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to see where money is made. Benjamin has developed an interest in money this past year, and really wanted to come here. We were not able to get tickets for the tour, but we enjoyed walking around the visitor center.

How many million dollars tall are you?

Walking along the mall. We knew it was time for an American history lesson when we asked the boys what the building in the distance was and Benjamin responded, 'it's a mosque!' To his defense, mosques do have that shape.

We wanted to take the kids up in the Washington Monument, but it has been under renovation for the past 3 years and is supposed to re-open in August. The boys enjoyed having races and running as close as they could to the fence around the base, so we hung out there for a while.

It was a fun first day exploring our Nation's capital! 

The next morning, we took the Metro to the Arlington National Cemetery.

We took the tram tour around the cemetery and got off at a few stops. The most memorable was witnessing the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

Afterwards we walked across the Arlington Bridge into D.C. and met up with one of our friends from work for a few hours. We walked along the reflecting pool, visited the Lincoln Memorial, and sat and caught up while the boys explored and Eliza enjoyed being out of her stroller.

Despite all the interesting history we saw, I think Benjamin would say the highlight of his time was working with Mr. Dawit. He was a kind man who let Benjamin sell ice cream with him, and he even tried to convince us to leave him for a while so he could work! Benjamin would greet customers, give them their ice cream and take their money. For the rest of the day, all he could talk about was how he wanted to come back when he was 7 to work with Mr. Dawit...now to teach him about child labor laws, ha!

We had a great time in D.C. and are glad we got to show the kids history about where we are from and will live again one day. Next stop, Shenandoah National Park...

America bound, Father's Day, and Naval Academy

We traveled to the US for a few weeks in June and July. Here's the three happy campers ready for and a few hour nap before heading to the airport!

Our flight was at 3am, so they were most excited about being awake in the middle of the night. Everyone was chipper at the late hours, amazingly!

We are thankful the boys are such good plane travelers and are pretty much self-sufficient now!

Our first full day back in the U.S. was Father's Day! We were jet lagged, but wanted to get outside, so we decided to take a trip to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

Nathan is an amazing husband and father, and I thank God every day that he is ours. His selfless love for his family, full engagement, encouragement, and support for his family is so appreciated by us all. We love you Nathan!

It was a nice way to spend our first day back in the U.S....next stop was Washington D.C. for a couple of days!

Malta Part 3: Aquarium, Dingli Cliffs, and Mdina

Another day we explored and went do the aquarium, saw the Dingli cliffs, and visited the ancient town of Mdina. First stop was the aquarium, which was on the coast. We spent a few hours exploring inside and afterwards, we ate outside and overlooked the bay, which is believed to be where Paul shipwrecked on his was to Rome.   

Next we drove to the western coast to see the Dingli cliffs. They are the highest point on the island, about 250 meters above sea level.  It was very windy and cloudy, but from the top of the cliffs, you had beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The last stop of the day, which was one of the favorite places we visited, was the ancient town of Mdina, in the northern part of the country. Mdina was the capital of Malta during the medieval period and remained the capital through the Middle Ages until 1530. The city walls are still standing, the city is very well preserved, and it has a population of only 300 people. View of Mdina from the road.

Entering the city gate.

We walked through many narrow passages, it was like a maze in the city.

Main square

One happy little girl! She was such a trooper.

View of the country from the city walls

Afterwards, we enjoyed ice cream and had an impromptu photo shoot in the colorful flowers.

We had such a fun time exploring Malta, and are so thankful for the travel opportunities we have had as a family while living abroad!